In one embodiment, this invention relates generally to a planar support with numerous contours, which enable the centralized retention of an object of varying shapes and sizes, such as a cylindrical object, or a pedestal mounted object, and concave region(s) for the retention of secondary objects. The present invention also focuses upon techniques for the hospitality and entertainment industry where the distribution and manual balancing of numerous food and beverage items is fairly common.
Standing social gatherings where food and beverages are consumed can prove to be awkward for the participants. An attendee of such a function is often posed with the dilemma of being unable to freely perform a variety of hand movements while holding a food plate in one hand and a beverage container in the other. In addition to greeting another attendee with a handshake, the simple process of alternatively consuming food and beverages can pose a dilemma. Typically, the participants chose one or a combination of three outcomes: 1) refrain from one of the consumption functions to exclusively engage in the other, eating or drinking; 2) precariously hold the plate and beverage with one hand to consume a food item with the other hand with significant risk of dropping or spilling; or 3) disengage from socializing to a stable surface to rest the plate and or beverage container, freeing one or both hands to consume food and beverage.
Many hosts of standing social gatherings largely ignore these described challenges. The dilemma of not being able to comfortably consume even moderate quantities of food and beverage in such a setting can be a source of frustration for the attendees and unintended negative outcomes for the host. Non-desirable situations include, but are not limited to: dropping of food and spilling of beverages; the unpleasant gastronomic experience of exclusively consuming food or beverage; large quantities of food and beverage not being consumed and ultimately disposed; and limited social interaction due to attendees struggling with the manual challenges of food and beverage consumption. Numerous attempts have been made to solve this age-old dilemma, however, design limitations have hindered widespread acceptance or significant commercial success of existing devices.
The retention of a cylindrical shaped beverage container is relatively simple with the use of a round recessed region; however, the additional accommodation of stemware may pose a greater challenge. While other items may have round retention areas, none appear to have arranged a series of decreasing sizes for the accommodation of varying sizes of beverage containers as disclosed here. Other devices appear to have attempted to retain stemware with similar outcomes; virtually all result in an open region on the outer perimeter of the invention. In many designs, the open region on the outer perimeter may weaken the structural integrity of the device, may heighten the probability of the seated stemware falling out of the retention area, and may place strain on the hand and wrist of the operator due to the weight placement on the perimeter. Further, numerous devices were relatively sufficient at retaining food and beverage containers, however, their tall profiles made them comparatively cumbersome and space-inefficient for storage and commercial shipment.
Strain and lack of stability may be associated with traditionally grasping a horizontal object on the perimeter or resting it on the palm of a hand, which may be held face up. Yet, the process of making a device easier to grasp has been attempted. A thumb hole has been a recurring theme as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. D 194,114 to Graham, U.S. Pat. No. D 278,198 to Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,023 to Bertsch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,860 to Oliver, U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,264 to Petrone, U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,858 to White et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,396 to Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,038 to Laumann geb. Quensen, and PCT Pub. No. WO92120586. With each of these designs, it may be intended for the operator to pass a portion of a thumb through the invention. From one perspective, the shape and scale of these thumbholes do not adequately enable significant passage of the thumb beyond the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint. Ergonomically, these devices lack a degree of human comfort as well as stability.
U.S. Pat. No. D 194,114 to Graham, U.S. Pat. No. D 227,851 to Nowland, U.S. Pat. No. D 292,161 to Spolter et al, U.S. Pat. No. D 322,197 to Sherlin, U.S. Pat. No. 421,264 to Gibbons, U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,023 to Bertsch, U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,858 to White et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,832 to Corvetti, U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,286 to Perkinson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,396 to Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,758 to Stevens, U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,597 to Bauman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,959 to Kleiner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,297 to Doty, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,125 to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,932 to Friedrich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,089 to Kataoka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,577 to Friedrich, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,950,856 and 6,138,860 to Comeaux are designs which can accommodate a cup as well as stemware, however, none of these designs allow for stemware to rest in the center of the device as in the present invention. The placement of stemware in any position other than the center of a device may even contribute to a lack of balance in some designs.
Caldi's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,624,052 and 5,732,847 accommodate a cup as well as stemware and may even position stemware in the center of the device. Caldi's design may be suboptimal from at least one of the present perspectives perhaps because it includes a broken outer circular perimeter. With a broken circular perimeter, and relatively high profile, the device can prove to be bulky, cumbersome and structurally weak in some uses.
U.S. Pat. No. D 292,161 to Spolter et al, U.S. Pat. No. 421,264 to Gibbons, U.S. Pat. No. 774,479 to Lange, U.S. Pat. No. 817,148 to Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,023 to Bertsch, U.S. Pat. No. 3,401,858 to White et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,832 to Corvetti, U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,674 to Greene, U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,286 to Perkinson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,598 to Adams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,396 to Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,597 to Bauman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,959 to Kleiner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,895 to Iaslovits, U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,297 to Doty and U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,860 to Comeaux, are inventions which may enable the use of stemware. These particular devices did not adequately address the high center of gravity inherent with a pedestal mounted object. Because these devices do not appropriately enable the lowering of the center of gravity of a pedestal mounted object, these devices may be unstable and may not adequately allow free movement for the operator.
Others, namely, U.S. Pat. No. D 194,114 to Graham, U.S. Pat. No. D 227,851 to Nowland, U.S. Pat. No. D 270,324 to French, U.S. Pat. No. D 281,565 to Stourton et al, U.S. Pat. No. D 322,197 to Sherlin, U.S. Pat. No. D 331,860 to Stanfield, U.S. Pat. No. D 373,052 to Di Biase, U.S. Pat. No. D 388,661 to Vignau et al, U.S. Pat. No. D 392,156 to Michael, U.S. Pat. 4,516,685 to French, U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,758 to Stevens, U.S. Pat. NO. 4,961,555 to Egan, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,391 to Berger et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,960 to Zilliox, (subsequent U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,703 to Zilliox), U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,038 to Laumann geb. Quensen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,125 to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,932 to Friedrich, U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,089 to Kataoka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,455 to Russeau, U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,577 to Friedrich, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,856 to Cinque appear to have somewhat attempted to address stemware stability by lowering the stemware's center of gravity to the surface level of their inventions. All of these inventions possess an opening in the outer perimeter creating an access point which may be intended for the passage of a stemware stem. The inventions have a perimeter resting location in which the beverage container element of the pedestal mounted object may be seated in the perimeter of the invention.
Further, an open passage way may result in a plate-device with a broken circular perimeter. In certain non-horizontal positions, stemware could unintentionally unseat and fall from the device. Additionally, a perimeter stemware resting point may place undue weight in a location that causes non-desirable leverage and strain on the hand, wrist and arm of the operator. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,624,052 and 5,732,847 to Caldi, the center of gravity of a stemware object was lowered to the surface of the invention and placed the resting point in the middle. However, these patents are flawed because they may have a broken circular perimeter for the passage of the stemware stem.
Wherever people gather to enjoy food, beverage and socializing there is a need for a simple and economical device that lends greater manual dexterity to the attendees.